Poké Wars: The Defence
by anonymous naruhinafan
Summary: "This is my town. Some people call it backwater, others call it old-fashioned. Right now I think I'd call it a hell-hole. And it's my job to keep it safe. What's left of it, at least." Cover art by CrystalMewtwo.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. For that matter, I don't own Poké Wars either. It is the brainchild of Cornova, so if you like this fic, then make sure to read his too.**

**August 16**

Old Mrs. Cadey walked past, pulling her cart along. For a seventy-three year old woman, she was quite strong, not to mention stubborn. She refused to let anyone, human or pokémon, do anything for her unless she was completely incapable of doing it herself. Still, she was a pleasant woman, and the kids loved to listen to her tell stories of back when she was a pokémon trainer.

Off to the side of the street was forty year old Tucker Allen; he was the town's businessman. He was a bit stingy with money and far too serious for his own good. Still, once you bought him a couple drinks, he was a pretty good conversationalist, so long as you didn't insult his moustache. He owned the second biggest building in Obsidilet Town: the supermarket, which he was currently closing up for the day. Of course, most of what he sold was grown locally, though some of it had to be bought elsewhere. Obsidilet Town was fairly isolated, not necessarily by choice; it was just pretty hard to get to. There was only one road into town that was actually big enough for a car; it ran right alongside the river. The rest of the roads went through the surrounding mountains, and were only intended for hikers. Mr. Allen got one shipment of fresh vegetables each month from a company in Jubilife City; the next one came in a couple days. Other than that, the only outsiders Obsidilet Town tended to see were the occasional Gym challengers.

And finally, there was the lovely Carissa, standing outside Obsidilet Town's Official Pokémon Gym. Her long black hair was pulled back into her usual ponytail, which reached just past her neck, and she wore a pretty blue dress with a nice green floral design on it. She had a small nose and big eyes, and she could look very cute when she wanted to. Beside her was the pokémon who had been her friend and companion since she was ten, Meditite. And in her hands was a bag of rice balls.

Twenty-three year old Shadrick approached her and she waved at him. Shadrick was the Gym Leader of the Obsidilet Gym. He had simple light brown hair that he tried to keep short. Unfortunately, it had a tendency to grow at a very fast rate. It was already getting past his ears; he'd probably have to get it cut soon. At the moment, he was wearing a simple white T-shirt and khaki shorts.

"There you are Shadrick!" she called. "I've been looking for you!"

A grin lit up Shadrick's face the moment he saw her. "Well it seems you've found me." As soon as he was close enough, Shadrick swept Carissa into his arms. "So tell me, what have I done to attract the attentions of such a beautiful lady?"

Carissa just laughed; she was used to his antics. "I heard you got a new addition to the family, and I was worried you'd be too busy taking care of it, so I thought I'd make you dinner. Unfortunately, I can't make anything more than rice balls, so I hope you don't mind."

"Don't be silly, I love your rice balls. They're the best rice balls ever." Reluctantly, he let Carissa go so he could open the door for her. Meditite went in first, followed by Carissa, with Shadrick following behind. "You heard right. The egg finally hatched yesterday. I've been so busy helping take care of the new Eevee that I haven't had a chance to tell you. This was the first time I've gotten a break since yesterday afternoon, so I decided to take a walk. I needed the fresh air."

The Obsidilet Town Gym wasn't as fancy as many Gyms were. The money he got from the Pokémon league went into keeping the Gym in one piece; there was little left over for renovations. As a result, it didn't have electric doors, just two large wooden doors that swung open inwards, usually dramatically. Like many Gym Leaders, Shadrick had an apartment on the second floor of the gym that he lived in. Out back, behind the Gym, was where Shadrick's pokémon were usually found.

Shadrick didn't want his pokémon to feel like they were captives. As such there was no fence around what was essentially his backyard. And, since the Gym was basically at the back of the town, his backyard led directly to Obsidilet Forest. It wasn't uncommon for wild pokémon to be seen in the gym's backyard, and his pokémon would sometimes wander into the forest looking for entertainment. There was also a table set up, as Shadrick would often eat his meals at the same time as his pokémon, and he enjoyed their company. This was where Shadrick, Carissa and Meditite headed now, though not before getting dinner for the pokémon.

"Come and get it!" Shadrick called, banging the gong he kept hanging on the wall. Slowly but surely, his pokémon began showing up for dinner. Soon, everyone but Espeon, Umbreon and Eevee had arrived. Shadrick had expected that, though; the two parents were no doubt taking care of the newborn.

He grabbed the two bowls he had prepared for them. "Do you want come see Eevee?" Shadrick asked Carissa.

Carissa smiled that beautiful smile of hers. "I'd love to."

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

Ten years ago, Shadrick left his parents' home in Obsidilet Town and started his pokémon journey. His dad had been the Gym Leader before him, and had wanted him to start when he was ten, but his mother insisted on him waiting until he was at least a teenager. So, on his thirteenth birthday, he set out to travel Sinnoh and collect Gym badges. His father had wanted to give him his first badge when he set out, but Shadrick refused. He still had yet to beat his father in a match, and he wanted to earn his badges.

The first pokémon he caught himself was a Swablu out on Route 210. It had long since left him to start a family of its own, but with Swablu's help, he made quick work of the Veilstone City Gym Leader. The man specialized in fighting types, so Swablu's flying attacks were a great help.

After making it to the Top 16 in the Lily of the Valley Conference, Shadrick decided to give the Hoenn region a try. This time he managed to win the whole Ever Grande Conference, but when the time came for him to take part in the Champion League, he lost in the first round against Drake, and only managed to take out two of the man's pokémon. With that defeat under his belt, along with words of encouragement from Drake, Shadrick returned home, and challenged his dad over leadership of the gym. When Shadrick won, his dad retired and Shadrick became the Gym Leader of Obsidilet Town's Dark-Type Gym.

During his travels Shadrick met many pokémon. He mostly preferred Dark-type pokémon, as did his dad, but he also liked pokémon that were, frankly, abnormal. Not in a bad way, mind, but pokémon that went beyond the norm, or even just outside of it. So, when he found an Espeon that could teleport while traveling through the Hoenn region, he immediately tried to befriend it. Of course, her mate misunderstood his intentions, and opted to hit Shadrick with a nice tackle. After a short explanation of his true intentions, Shadrick invited both Espeon and Umbreon to come with him. In the eight years since Shadrick took over the Gym, Espeon and Umbreon had had six eggs, including their newly hatched Eevee. Said Eevee was absolutely adorable.

"Squeeeeeeeeeee!" Carissa shrieked. "He's absolutely adorable!" She always got that way around cute pokémon. Shadrick, on the other hand, _definitely_ didn't act the exact same way each time the first three Eevee hatched. Definitely. "Can I cuddle him?"

"As long as Espeon doesn't mind," Shadrick replied. She didn't, so Carissa scooped up the little pokémon and hugged it to her chest.

'Hmm… should I be jealous?' Shadrick thought jokingly as he watched. "Alright, that's enough." Shadrick interrupted Carissa making baby faces at the Eevee. "He needs to eat." Shradrick placed the two bowls of pokémon food on the ground: one large bowl for the parents to share, and one small bowl for Eevee.

"Now, what am I going to call you?" Shadrick wondered aloud as he watched Eevee dig in. Ever since he realized that Espeon planned on having a lot of kids, he decided to start nicknaming them, that way no one got confused if there was more than one Eevee.

"How about Enoch?" Carissa offered as the two of them started walking back to the table; they still had rice balls to eat. "Enoch's a nice strong-sounding name."

"That _is_ a nice name," Shadrick replied. "It's definitely going at the top of the list."

Carissa giggled. "You always put so much effort into naming them."

"Hey, whatever I name them as will stick with them for the rest of their lives. I have to make sure I choose the right name. This is a big decision."

Carissa's giggles quieted to a smile. "So what are you gonna do with him?"

"What do you mean?" was Shadrick's reply.

"I mean, you already have all the known evolved forms of Eevee. So what are you going to do with the new guy?"

"Oh, that's just a coincidence," Shadrick responded, dodging the question. "I had little to no say in what they evolved into."

"Suuure you didn't." She smiled knowingly.

"What, you think me some evil mastermind who subtly influenced how they each evolved?" Shadrick faked offence at her words. His hand was on his chest, and his face looked liked he wanted to say "_Me?_ An evil mastermind? Never!"

"I don't just think you are, I know you are. I've seen the mind games you play on your challengers. I am your referee, after all."

"Well," he admitted, "I may have influenced them a little. I mean, a team of all Umbreons wouldn't be too bad, but I like some variety sometimes."

Carissa rolled her eyes at his antics.

Shadrick caught her chin as they stopped walking. "Careful. Roll those pretty blue eyes of yours too much and they just might roll right of your head."

Carissa just smiled that smile of hers that was devious, and just a bit flirty. "Will you catch them for me if they do?"

"Of course." They were both grinning playfully now. "They are more beautiful than any diamond in any mine on earth and any pearl in the entire sea. They are more beautiful than any gem owned by any man. I would be a fool not to catch them."

"Then I have nothing to worry about," she said, then stuffed a rice ball in his mouth. They were back at the table.

"You never answered my question," Carissa said as they each took a seat and started eating. "What are you planning to do with Eevee?"

"I'm not sure yet. Tommy turns ten in a month, and I've been thinking about giving him Eevee as his first pokémon. I'll have to talk to his parents and Eevee's parents first, though. Umbreon should be okay with it, but I have no idea what Espeon will have to say about giving him away." Shadrick finished his first rice ball and put his head in his hands. "Jeez, even when they're another species, I can't understand women."

"I'm still right here, you know."

Shadrick looked up at Carissa's smiling face. "Unless you plan on getting a sex change, it still applies. No matter how good I get at predicting people, you women still manage to surprise me."

Carissa took another bite and swallowed. "I aim to please."

"So," Shadrick began, not wanting the conversation to end, "how did your visit with your parents go?"

"Nothing too interesting happened, though I did pick up the new Noctowl City CD."

"Ooh, we'll have to listen to that tomorrow."

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

They chatted about this and that for an hour before Carissa and Meditite returned home. Shadrick gave her a quick kiss before she left. "I'll come by your place tomorrow so we can check out that CD."

"It's a date," Carissa replied as she left.

'What to do now,' Shadrick pondered, closing the door. 'It's too early to go to bed. I am a bit tired, though. That little guy was a handful. Thankfully, Umbreon and Espeon should be able to take care of him from now on. He _was_ cute. Far too much energy, though. Just like Jacob, he wouldn't stop running around. Esther, on the other hand, was much easier to take care of. Just put her in a nice sunny place, and she'd calm right down… ah great, now I'm getting nostalgic. I'm too young for nostalgia, it's not supposed to hit until you're, like, forty. Oh well, too late now, I guess I'll go see what the pokémon are up to.'

Oftentimes, when Shadrick wanted to relax, he would go out back and watch the pokémon. Now that nostalgia had hit, he couldn't help but reminisce.

Eevee had come out to meet everyone while Shadrick and Carissa were chatting. Currently he was being chased around by Sableye.

Sableye was Shadrick's first pokémon. He had been a gift from his grandfather who lived out in the Hoenn region. "Because nothing ever seems to faze you," he had said. And it was true, at the time. Back then he was a very quiet kid who kept to himself a lot, and not much did faze him. But once he started traveling around, meeting new people and pokémon, he opened up a lot more.

Eventually, Sableye wore himself out trying to wear Eevee out, and Eevee's siblings had to take over. The oldest was Esther. Esther had actually hatched while Shadrick was waiting for the Ever Grande Conference to begin. It was while traveling through Eterna Forest on the way home that she evolved into a Leafeon. The next oldest was Abel, a Vaporeon, who was the first to be born in Obsidilet Town. After him was Esau, who had spent the longest time of all his siblings as an Eevee. It wasn't until Candice became Snowpoint City's Gym Leader, and Shadrick went to visit her to give his congratulations, that Esau evolved into a Glaceon. Next was Jacob, the Jolteon. He had gotten extremely sick, and very nearly died, not long after he was born. Thankfully, Nurse Joy managed to pull him through. Finally, there was two-year-old Ruth, who had only recently evolved into a Flareon.

Resting by herself was Shadrick's Ninetales. When he first found her as a Vulpix in the Hoenn region, Shadrick was immediately struck by her golden fur. What he didn't know was that there was more to her than just a pretty face. Most Vulpix have some level of psychic ability, which just gets stronger if they evolve. Shadrick's Ninetales, however, was a far stronger psychic, even as a Vulpix, than any Ninetales. Especially in regards to her telepathy; she was able to speak directly to Shadrick's mind, and often served as translator for him. Unfortunately, while her psychic abilities were powerful, her fire attacks were far weaker than her peers'; she initially had trouble breathing even a small flame, which netted her much ridicule, as did her abnormal coloration. After she joined Shadrick's team, he helped train her fire attacks and took part in the occasional pokémon contest to help boost her self-confidence.

Ninetales was currently watching Mightyena and Houndoom in another one of their fights. The two canines never got along with each other. Mightyena's haughty nature constantly grated on Houndoom's nerves. Not without reason, though. When she was just a Houndour pup, the alpha of her pack, as well as his mate, acted just as high-and-mighty as Mightyena did. He only allowed strong pokémon in his pack, and when Houndoom couldn't keep up, they abandoned her. She was forced to fend for herself, until Shadrick found her alone at Lake Valor. So, while the rest of the pokémon could tolerate Mightyena, and some even liked her, Houndoom ended up starting fights with her quite often.

Eventually, Weavile would step in and calm them down. Weavile was the mediator of Shadrick's pokémon. Whenever a dispute popped up between any of the pokémon, he would end up brokering peace. However, he had learned long ago that the best way to deal with Houndoom and Mightyena was to let them fight it out a bit first before interfering. Otherwise they'd both turn on him before returning to fighting each other.

Also watching the fight, while simultaneously cheering on one side or the other the entire time, was Drapion. Drapion was the reason Shadrick changed his views on pokéballs. Back at the beginning of his journey, he treated pokéballs just like every other trainer did, as a device for catching pokémon. It wasn't until he caught a particularly claustrophobic Skorupi that he started to wonder about what it must be like inside a pokéball. His pokémon spent most of the day inside their pokéballs, only being let out to eat, train or fight. Shadrick realized that if he were in that position, he would eventually grow to hate it. Perhaps pokémon were different, but he still didn't want them to feel captive. So, he started keeping them out as he travelled. The only time he forced them to return was when they fainted or when he went into a city. Six pokémon walking down a street would not only get strange looks, but would also get in people's way, and his mother always taught him not to be rude.

Speaking of strange looks, Shadrick's Absol kept glancing over at him with an odd look in his eyes, almost like worry, or perhaps just nervousness. Shadrick chose to ignore it. If something was going to happen, he would deal with it when it came. Worrying about it wouldn't change anything, especially since Absol's disaster-sensing ability had grown weak back during a time when he was _causing_ disasters.

After being chased out of one too many towns, Absol snapped, and decided to get revenge on the humans. He never told Shadrick the details, but he somehow managed to learn Rock Slide, Flamethrower and Earthquake. While the attacks didn't do serious damage by themselves, Absol knew how to make use of them. A Rock Slide at the right place on a mountain would cause a chain reaction, and Flamethrower, while not actually lighting anything on fire, could still be used to heat up a branch until it combusted on its own, if held long enough. When Shadrick first met Absol, they were at a town along the coast of Hoenn, and Absol was planning on using Earthquake to cause a tidal wave. With Ninetales' help, he managed to "convince" Absol not to attack the town. Granted, most of the talking happened after all six of Shadrick's pokémon beat Absol to a pulp, but it was still Absol's choice to join Shadrick's team.

Back by the edge of the forest, Honchkrow was perched in a tree, speaking to a few Murkrow. Knowing Honchkrow, he was either telling them a story, or discussing politics. While Honchkrow had been born in Eterna Forest, since coming to live in Obsidilet Town, he had united all the Murkrow of Obsidilet Forest, and set himself up as their boss. Nowadays he spent almost as much time in the forest as he did at the Gym.

Finally, off meditating by himself was Hitmonchan. Unlike most members of his species, he simply didn't enjoy fighting. While most Hitmonchan spent their spare time throwing punches at the air, Shadrick's Hitmonchan preferred meditation and contemplation.

Shadrick never actually caught Hitmonchan; instead he was given him by another trainer. Apparently, Hitmonchan had been passed around from one trainer to the next, each trying, and failing, to get Hitmonchan to fight. Eventually, he passed into Shadrick's hands, but Shadrick didn't try to make him fight. Instead, he sent Hitmonchan home to his parents, where he helped with the upkeep of the gym.

Shadrick sat there for a while, reminiscing on his many battles, both during and after his travels. While the Obsidilet Gym didn't get as many challengers as, say, the Hearthome Gym, it still had its fair share. In fact, a challenger had just arrived that afternoon, though Shadrick was too busy trying to keep Eevee from chewing on the sofa to accept his challenge. Instead, he had had the challenger battle his protégé, and the only gym trainer, Michael. The challenger wiped the floor with Michael, and promised to return the next day for the real match.

'Seems like that'll be a tough match,' Shadrick thought to himself. 'Best make sure I'm well rested.' It was a bit earlier than usual, but today had been a hectic day. 'Hopefully tomorrow will be better.' He bade his pokémon good night, and headed to bed.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

Absol was agitated. This feeling that something was coming, that something disastrous was going to happen, only got stronger as time passed. In fact, it was currently stronger than anything he had ever sensed before in his entire life. That meant that, either his ability to sense disasters was improving, or whatever was about to happen was going to be absolutely catastrophic. Considering that he still couldn't pinpoint a location, it seemed that he hadn't gotten any better. Which meant that whatever was going to happen was likely so bad that it would drive any other Absol into a panic.

Once upon a time, he would have been able to pinpoint a location for where the disaster would happen, and where it would be safe, and could usually then figure out what was going to go wrong. Nowadays, the best he got was a vague feeling that something bad was going to happen.

He had many reasons to regret his past actions, and his inability to protect the human who had changed him was just one of them.

Still, while he couldn't protect his family, for that's what he considered them, he could at least try to escape it himself. When it came to natural disasters, the higher up you were, the safer you tended to be, and Obsidilet Town was surrounded by mountains. In fact, there was one not a half-mile north of the Gym. So, instead of going to sleep like the rest of his family, he headed towards the mountain. This part of the mountain was covered with steep cliffs, so Absol hopped up the cliffs until he found a wide enough place to lie down. From his vantage point, he could see all of Obsidilet Town. Hopefully whatever was going to happen would happen soon.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

Eventually, Eevee finally collapsed from exhaustion and went to sleep. Once silence finally reigned over the field, the pokémon began, one by one, turning in for the night themselves. However, several pokémon found that they couldn't get to sleep. One such pokémon was Ruth, who couldn't help but feel nervous. She wasn't sure why, but she definitely felt it. Finally, she decided to take a walk to try and clear her head.

"Trouble sleeping?" Abel whispered.

Ruth turned. "Yeah, a little. I was just going to take a walk. Sorry to wake you, go back to sleep."

"Nonsense," Abel responded, rising from his position on the floor. "If something's bothering my little sister, then it's my job to help."

Ruth flicked her ears, signifying that he could do as he wished, and started walking off. Once they were far enough away that they wouldn't wake anyone up, Abel started talking.

"So, what's the problem? What's keeping you from sleeping?"

"I don't really know." Ruth looked at the ground beneath her paws as they kept walking. "But, for some reason, I feel really nervous. I can't help but shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen soon." Abel laughed suddenly, and Ruth glared at him. "What's so funny?"

His laughter quieted to a chuckle. "Is that what's bothering you? Don't worry, I know exactly what's wrong. It happened to me when Esau hatched." He nudged her shoulder lightly. "You're just nervous because there's a new kid in the family, and you aren't the youngest anymore."

Ruth looked at Abel. "Are you sure that's all it is?"

"Positive," Abel replied. "A part of you is worried that Mom and Dad are going to start ignoring you in favor of the new kid. But don't worry, they aren't like that. It may seem, for a couple days at least, that he is all they care about, but that's just because he needs a lot of attention. But before you know it, everything will be back to normal. Just you wait."

Ruth's tail rose from its previously drooped position. "Promise?"

"Promise. So, you want to head back now?"

Ruth nodded, and they turned around. But before they could get more than a few steps, a voice resounded in both their heads.

"_**I've given you the power to take our world back from the humans**_… _**kill any who stand against you.**_"

**And Chapter 1 is finished. Next chapter we'll see the dampener removal from the several different character's viewpoints.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. For that matter, I don't own Poké Wars either. It is the brainchild of Cornova, so if you like this fic, then make sure to read his too.**

It was nighttime in Sinnoh. The stars shone brilliantly from their places in the heavens as Obsidilet Town slept. But inside the Pokémon Center, there was one boy who did not sleep. A crop of blonde hair peeked into the Pokémon Center's lobby, followed by a head. Said head looked around briefly, before the boy tiptoed into the room.

'Where is the bathroom in this place?' Orange eyes scanned the room until they came upon their quarry. 'Aha!'

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

*Flush* *Zip*

Barry walked out of the bathroom newly refreshed. 'I don't know who put the bathroom so far from the rooms, but they should be fined.' It was only as he left the bathroom that he noticed there was someone else in the lobby with him. Sitting on one of the couches, wide awake, was a red-headed kid wrapped in a blanket. It was Michael, the guy who had battled Barry earlier that day.

Barry walked over to the couch opposite Michael and sat down. "Hi there," he said, smiling.

Michael looked up. "Oh, hi." He looked back down.

Barry's smile faltered for a moment. "What's wrong? You're not still bummed about our battle, are you?"

Michael sighed and nodded. "I really messed up. I gave all the wrong commands, and you beat me so easily. I haven't been able to sleep at all; I just keep going over how I messed up."

"Yeah, you did mess up," Barry agreed. "But hey! That's how you get stronger. You learn from your mistakes so you don't make them next time. Everything will be fine!"

Michael pulled the blanket tighter. "Yeah. I guess."

Barry deflated. 'This guy's attitude is contagious.' He sat there until the silence became awkward. 'I can't just go back to my room now. Gotta think of something to say.'

"So," Barry began. "Hey, what was with that pink and blue pokémon of yours? What did you call it, Porygon? I've never seen a pokémon like it before."

Michael smiled a little bit. It seemed talking about his pokémon cheered him up a little. "That was Porygon2; it's the evolved form of Porygon. And I'm not surprised you haven't seen one before. They were made by a man named Dr. Akihabara, and he still has most of them."

Barry's eyes popped open wide. "Whaaaat? You can _make _pokémon?"

Michael's smile widened just a bit more at Barry's antics. "Porygon2, as well as Porygon, is a pokémon designed to live and work in cyberspace. I didn't really understand how it was created, it was some pretty advanced stuff, but it's essentially a computer program with artificial intelligence and given a physical body that can turn into data when it needs to."

"Wow," Barry said. "So Porygon2 is like a digital pokémon. Maybe we should call it a digipokémon, then." Michael cracked a grin at Barry's horrible pun. "So, how did you manage to get a Porygon2 if this Dr. Akihara guy has them all?"

"It's Dr. Akihabara, and he gave it to me. When I met him, he said he was visiting the Sinnoh region because one of his Porygon2s had been stolen. When we found it, someone had altered its programming and turned it into Porygon-Z. We never found out who stole it, but Dr. Akihabara took Porygon-Z back to Kanto with him in order to study it. While he was here, though, he wanted to get some field data on one of his Porygon2, so he told me that if I let him watch me battle with it, he would let me keep Porygon2."

"Well, it was—" Barry's reponse was interrupted when the three pokéballs on Michael's belt burst open, releasing a Floatzel, a Frosslass, and a Shiftry. The air in the lobby grew colder almost immediately as Shiftry and Frosslass both released bursts of frigid air. Floatzel, on the other hand, started firing of blasts of water that broke holes in the walls.

"What the heck?!" Barry shouted as he jumped behind the sofa he had been sitting on. "Control your pokémon, man!"

Michael snapped out of his shock and stood up. "Right! Guys, what are you doing? Stop attacking!" In response, the couch behind him was hit by a barrage of razor sharp leaves. Michael jumped out of the way at the last moment and crawled his way over to where Barry was hiding. "They won't listen to me. They sound like they're in pain; I don't think they can hear me at all." Michael looked over at Barry. "Can you use your pokémon to stop them?"

"I left my pokémon in my room," Barry responded. "Maybe if we can get upstairs—" Barry was cut off as a jet of water hit the couch, taking a chunk of it with it.

"I don't think we're going anywhere right now." Barry couldn't help but agree.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

Rather than returning home for the night, Nurse Joy had stayed late at the Pokémon Center once again, and ended up falling asleep at her desk. She had to keep records of every patient she treated; it was part of how the Pokémon Centers received funding. Today had been a relatively light day as far as pokémon injuries, only Michael had brought three of his pokémon in. But Nurse Joy wasn't just a pokémon nurse; she also doubled as Obsidilet Town's human doctor. Recently there had been a nasty bug going around, and she was still backed up filling out forms for that.

Obsidilet Town's Nurse Joy was probably the oldest active Joy in the Sinnoh region. At forty-three, she had been through medical school three times, and gotten three different degrees, one of them as a pokémon nurse. Most Joys would have married by now, and had kids who could take over the Pokémon Center so they could retire. But Holly Joy had yet to find the right man. She dreamed of a man with big, strong muscles and a strong, chiseled jaw, but who was also kind and gentle and romantic. Said dreams were rudely interrupted, however, by a commotion from outside her office.

Nurse Joy's office opened directly into the Recovery Room, where pokémon went to rest after having their injuries treated. Currently resting in there were Michael's Grotle, Togekiss and Porygon2. Nurse Joy made her way over to the door and opened it, only to slam it back shut moments before it was hit by an Aura Sphere from Togekiss. The door exploded inwards, sending Nurse Joy flying in a cloud of splinters. Her head slammed against the floor hard enough to leave her momentarily dazed. She shook her head to clear away the haze and looked up to see a storm of leaves focused around Grotle. Porygon2 was nowhere in sight. She scrambled to her feet, and out of the way of any more potential Aura Spheres.

Out of sight from the doorway, and temporarily in the clear, she headed back to her desk. 'Ah, that's where it went.' Her computer screen, which she knew she had turned off, was flashing back and forth between pink and blue. Porygon2 was probably hiding in the computer system until things boiled over. That meant she only had to deal with two pokémon.

Nurse Joy's Blissey had already returned home for the night, so Nurse Joy couldn't have her Sing the patients to sleep. It was for emergencies like this that she kept a small amount of tranquilizer in her desk. It wasn't much, sedatives were costly and they didn't last forever, but it was enough to take down one large pokémon or two medium-sized pokémon.

The pokémon were clearly in severe agony, and their screams were hurting more than just Nurse Joy's ears. She was a Pokémon Nurse; it was her job to ease their pains. She certainly didn't enjoy hearing them call out like this. Still, while the pokémon may be hurting, there was no excuse for such a commotion.

'This is a Pokémon Center,' Nurse Joy thought. 'Unruly patients need to calm down or I can't take care of them.' The first needle was ready. She headed to the doorway and peeked around. 'It looks like Togekiss will be easier to take down.'

She headed in to the Recovery Room. A few steps in, a bright blue ball of swirling winds came straight at her. Nurse Joy ducked and rolled, then came up ready for the next attack. It didn't come. 'I guess Togekiss isn't attacking me on purpose. I wonder if he even realizes I'm here.' If he didn't realize she was there, than it would make it easier to sneak up on him. The best place to apply the shot was just below the shoulder, where the wing met the rest of the body. She took a running leap, and landed on Togekiss's back. She struggled briefly with the Jubilee Pokémon, but soon managed to get the needle in the right spot.

"This is for your own good," she whispered in Togekiss's ear as she depressed the plunger. The pokémon's thrashing slowed and his screams quieted as the sedatives took effect. Slowly, the pair drifted to the ground.

Nurse Joy managed to haul all 80+ pounds of pokémon into her office. Togekiss would be out for a while, and she didn't want to risk him getting hurt by Grotle.

She walked over to the desk and prepared the second needle. 'I just need to knock out Grotle. Then maybe I can figure out what's happened to them. Now, how am I going to get close?' She made her way back to the Recovery Room. 'A distraction? Hmm… I don't think it'll work. The pokémon seem to be in too much pain to notice anything around them. I'll just have to force my way through.' She grabbed a steel tray and thrust it into the flurry of leaves that surrounded Grotle. The tray served as a shield as she jabbed the needle into Grotle's neck.

Soon, Grotle calmed down and Nurse Joy was able to relax. Finally having a chance to calm down, she began to notice her surroundings. There were several places along the walls where she could see into the next room and the medicine cabinet was in pieces. The mattress Grotle had been, and once again was, resting on was ripped almost to shreds, and several leaves were embedded in the metal tray in her hand.

'Michael's pokémon must be extremely strong, to be able to cause so much damage,' Nurse Joy thought as she tried to remove a leaf. Her finger grazed its side, and she flinched back. She was bleeding.

That wasn't supposed to happen. It was already a strain believing how much damage Togekiss and Grotle had caused, but sometimes strange things happened. But this. This went against everything she knew about pokémon.

Nurse Joy shook her head. 'No, I'm jumping to conclusions. I probably got a paper cut earlier, and the leaf agitated it. Pokémon attacks can hurt, but they can't cut. That's ridiculous.' She went to put a bandage on her finger and to move Togekiss back onto a bed. But somehow, she couldn't help but feel that she wasn't going to get much sleep for a while yet.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

"Looks like we'll be in the red again this month," Tucker muttered to himself. He had stayed up late working on his finances. "The price of cabbage has dropped this month. Perhaps if I have a sale on cabbage, then when it's over, I raise the price to its new, lower value." While he got his berry supply from the Stuffley's farm, which kept a steady price unless they had extra, his vegetable supply was entirely dependent on Westley's, the company he bought them from.

Tucker's thoughts were interrupted when his Zangoose popped out of his pokéball.

"Zang Zangoose!" Zangoose cried as it held itself tightly.

"Zangoose, what's wrong?" Tucker's only response was a crush claw to his desk. Tucker quickly rolled his chair out of the way. "Zangoose, stop this! Why are you attacking?" He demanded, but Zangoose only turned and began attacking Tucker's bed.

'It seems he's not attacking me, then,' Tucker thought as he inched his way towards Zangoose's pokéball. He made a dive for the pokéball, then immediately pointed it at Zangoose. "Zangoose, return!" A beam of red light shot out of the pokéball and hit Zangoose, enveloping him in the red energy. But he only stayed in his pokéball for a moment, before bursting right back out again. This time, Tucker was too close, and when Zangoose swung his claws, he ripped a gouge out of his shirt and chest.

Rather than sticking around and putting himself in further danger, Tucker quickly made his way to the door and closed it behind him. It seemed there was nothing he could do for Zangoose except let him destroy the room. Besides, he had to do something about the wounds on his chest before he bled to death. As he headed to the bathroom, Tucker couldn't help but wonder just what the hell was going on.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

Mariah Stuffley was lying in bed asleep with her husband when a yellow beam of light lanced through her room, leaving slightly oval-shaped holes in the wall and ceiling. She awoke instantly, but her husband was a bit slower.

"What's going on, honey?" Mark Stuffley mumbled while rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"I don't know," Mariah replied. She got out of bed and went over to the new hole in her wall. Upon looking outside, she was greeted with a worrying site. Her husband's beloved Tropius appeared to be going on a rampage. It was screaming and thrashing about, leveling their carefully cultured berry trees.

Mariah did an about face, put on her slippers and ran downstairs, leaving her still-waking husband to wonder just what she had seen. She rushed outside in her nightgown, and then froze in shock as her mind finally caught up with her body. Tropius was busy leveling groves of trees with blades of air and the occasional Solarbeam. These were trees that Tropius had helped raise from sprouts and loved dearly, so why was he destroying them? And why had he attacked the house?

Mark came out behind her a few moments later. "What's going… on…?" He too was struck speechless at the sight before him.

A few of Tropius's air blades headed in the direction of the house, but they all struck the ground before getting close enough to cause worry. It wasn't until she noticed just where the next Solarbeam was headed that Mariah snapped out of her stupor.

"Get down!" It seemed Mark had also noticed, because he pushed his wife to the ground and covered her with his body.

Mariah could only stare at the golden beam only inches above her head. She was frozen in place on the ground, her husband's body pressing down on her.

Technically, Mark had only been grazed by the Solarbeam. But a grazing blow was plenty when it took off the back half of his body. Mariah simply laid there in shock as the smell of burnt flesh filled her nostrils.

Eventually, she was snapped out of her unmoving silence when a third Solarbeam came lancing towards the house. But instead of coming towards Mariah, this one went straight through her son's room.

Panic set in. Throwing her husband's body off, Mariah jumped into action. 'I can't loose him too. Not my son, not my Mason. Please be okay, baby. Please be okay! Please be okay!' She burst through the door to find her five year old son's unmoving body still in his bed.

Mariah collapsed to her knees. 'No.' She slowly crawled over to his bed and grabbed his arm. 'You can't be dead. Not you too.' She took a closer look and noticed his chest rise, and then fall. Tears of sorrow turned to tears of joy and relief as she collapsed onto the bed. He was just asleep. They always joked that Mason could sleep through a train wreck. Maybe there was something to that.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

Rebecca Cadey was awoken with a start as she heard quite a lot of noise coming from her front room. It sounded like her pokémon were battling someone.

'A burglar?' she wondered as she got out of bed. 'But who would try to steal from me?' Still, it was the only explanation she could think of for why her pokémon, who hadn't battled in almost 40 years, had broken out of their pokéballs and were attacking someone in the middle of the night. She opened the door and began making her way to the front of her house, but dropped suddenly to the ground to avoid the Hyper Beam that came barreling down the hallway. Confidence burned in her eyes as she raced down the hall. If her pokémon needed to use Hyper Beam, then whoever was attacking must have been very strong. She burst into her living room, however, to find no opponent, only her Garchomp and Salamence thrashing about.

The moment Salamence noticed Rebecca's presence, it rushed her. She managed to get out of the way in time, and Salamence barreled into the hallway before pulling up.

Rebecca hid around the corner so as not to draw his attention. If something was bothering her dear Salamence enough to cause him to go on a rampage, then he wouldn't be able to tell her apart from a potential enemy. Thankfully, her Garchomp seemed too preoccupied with tearing up the upholstery of her storytelling chair to attack her.

Salamence came charging back into the front room, another Hyper Beam growing in its maw. This time, though, it was aimed at the ceiling. He released the attack, taking off one of the blades of her ceiling fan and making a nice clean hole in the roof. Salamence flapped its wings and broke through the hole, quickly disappearing from sight.

Rebecca could only stare in shock, first at the hole in her house, then at her Garchomp who was currently attacking the walls and furniture of her front room. She wasn't sure how long she stood there watching her beloved pokémon destroy her house, but eventually Garchomp stopped thrashing and stood in the center of the room. An orange light glowed in his chest before a shining ball of draconic energy appeared above his open mouth. 'Oh dear,' Rebecca thought.

Draco Meteor.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

Due to Draco Meteor's nature as a long-range radial attack, Mrs. Cadey was left unharmed. The same could not be said for her neighbors.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

Along the outskirts of Obsidilet Town there were many farms and ranches. Along the southeast edge of town, the Jackson family ran one such ranch. They had a kind of joint farm with their neighbors, the Thompsons. While the Thompsons raised Miltank, the Jacksons raised Tauros.

The Jacksons had about sixty fully grown Tauros this year. The Tauros slept outside, in a large pen. The pen was roomy enough that each Tauros had enough room to lie down to sleep, rather than being forced to sleep standing up.

"_**I've given you the power to take our world back from the humans**_… _**kill any who stand against you.**_"

The voice was heard in the head of each and every sleeping Tauros. They awoke suddenly as they were filled with newfound power. It swept through them, making them stronger and faster. Their muscles bulged beneath their skin, like they were about to burst out.

At first they tried to resist the power; it was too much at once and they were in a confined space. But then a voice called out from the edge of the pen. "Stop resisting," it said. "The more you resist, the more it hurts. Just let the power flow and you'll be fine." Slowly, one by one, the Tauros began to calm down. They looked about to find the speaker and saw that it was one of their own, a Tauros, who had spoken. The speaker looked much like any Tauros would, except for the large scar that ran along his left horn. He was the herd's protector, and he received his scar while fighting off a wild pokémon.

After the last Tauros had calmed down, the herd's protector spoke again. "Now then, we have been given this power so that we can fight against the humans, and I say we do just that."

"But why?" one of the Tauros interrupted. "These humans have been taking good care of us since we hatched."

"And do you know why?" the protector retorted. No one answered. "They hatch us and raise us up so that when we're old enough, they can kill us for food." A collective gasp came from the herd. "It's true. I've seen it myself. They kill us and cut us up so they can feed their faces." The herd was silent as he continued to speak. "You know what I say to that? I say not anymore! We have been given this power so that we can take back our world from the humans. I say we do just that." The protector's words were driving the Tauros into a frenzy. Their tails were whipping about, which only served to heighten their rage. It wouldn't be long before a stampede broke out. "These humans have kept us captive for their own selfish purposes! But not anymore! Now we fight back! Now we show them the might of a herd of Tauros! Alone we are strong, together we are unstoppable! Now we take our lives and we take our world!" At this point, his words no longer reached their ears. Only the sound of his voice, his bellows in the night, drove them further into their rage.

The protector of the herd turned to face the Jacksons' house. "CHAAAAAARRRRRGE!" They plowed through the waist-high fence and continued stampeding through the house. They trampled anything, and anyone, who got in their way. The protector made extra sure the Jacksons got in his way.

From there, the stampede continued into town. They would have ended up trashing the entire place, but a red and blue blur changed their mind when it grabbed one of the Tauros and flew off. Seconds later, the Tauros' body fell back to the earth. The head was nowhere to be seen.

The domesticated Tauros herd's rage quickly turned to fear. "Protector, what do we do?" The red and blue blur revealed itself to be Salamence. An orange beam from the dragon-type's mouth incinerated another twelve Tauros instantly.

"Run," Protector whispered. "Run!" He ran, and the herd followed. No longer trying to kill humans, they ran straight towards safety. The smell of flowing water; a safe place where they could live, away from humans. That was all they wanted. Tonight was just a little bit of revenge. They didn't expect to be attacked by another pokémon!

So they ran. They ran through the human town and into the wild, where they hoped to find some safety.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

Eevee was awakened by a strange voice in his head. It told him to take back the world from humans and to kill anyone who stood against him. Whatever that meant. More importantly, he was suddenly wide awake. A very strange feeling filled him, but he wasn't sure what it was. All he knew was that now that he wasn't tired, he could play some more! He turned to give his mommy the good news and saw she was already awake. Good, that would make it easier.

Then she started screaming.

'What?' Eevee was worried. "Mommy, what's wrong?" He tried to get closer to her, but when he got too close he was sent flying.

Eevee hit the ground hard. With tears in his eyes, he rose back up from the ground and tried once again to get to his mommy. Once again he was sent flying back.

'Owie,' he thought. His leg hurt, but he wasn't going to cry. His daddy had told him his tears were special, that he was supposed to save them.

Eevee looked at his mommy again and saw that stars were now coming out of her mouth. Eevee had never seen anything so pretty. The stars were going everywhere. And some of them were heading towards him!

His instincts told him to get out of the way. And he did try to avoid them. But he was still just a newborn; he couldn't dodge them all. He had already bled out by the time Espeon fell unconscious.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

"_**I've given you the power to take our world back from the humans**_… _**kill any who stand against you.**_" The words echoed in Ruth's mind. But before she had a chance to contemplate their meaning, she felt a sudden surge of power rushing through her veins. It felt like every cell in her body was ablaze. The fire that burned inside her grew hotter, and it felt _good_.

It was at this point that she remembered Abel, who was right next to her. Afraid that she would hurt him, Ruth tried her best to reign in the power. The moment she did, however, excruciating pain filled her to her core.

As the fire in her flame sac grew hotter, so did the air around her. She tried her hardest to keep it under control, but it hurt. Flames leapt from her mouth; she couldn't hold it back much longer. As the temperature spiraled higher and higher, the grass around her began to catch on fire. She glanced over at her brother, hoping and praying that he was unaffected.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

Abel was facing his own set of problems. He too tried his best to suppress the surge of power he had received and, just like his sister, it only seemed to make things worse.

Like other water pokémon, Vaporeon could create water at will to use as a weapon. However, few other species had the same level of control as Vaporeon did. They could freely manipulate small bodies of water, bending it to their will, and even turn themselves into water. In this sense, Abel was no different than any other Vaporeon.

There were no bodies of water nearby, but there was plenty of water in the air and under the earth. Water molecules in the air began multiplying and a mist settled around Abel's form. Water seeped up from the ground, quenching the fires that Ruth had started. Abel struggled to keep control of his form; he kept shifting between liquid and solid.

And that was when he noticed the heat. The humid air grew even hotter, turning the mist into steam. The water on the ground absorbed heat from the air and began boiling. And so did Abel.

It hurt! His body was bubbling! Despite the fact that he was currently half water, he still felt pain. And it was agonizing. The pain from trying to resist the sudden surge of power, combined with the feeling of being boiled alive, was too much for him to take. It overwhelmed his brain, and he collapsed into a bubbling puddle on the ground. Consciousness slowly faded away as his body turned to steam.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

Absol was lying on his back, looking up at the sky. Growing bored of staring at the humans' town, he had taken to stargazing. The sky was cloudless this evening and the moon, while not quite full, nonetheless shone brightly. If one looked to the west they could see the top of Mt. Coronet completely unobstructed. The air was especially crisp tonight, with a slight chill to it that wasn't at all unpleasant. All in all it was a nice, peaceful evening.

'Too bad it won't last,' Absol thought. It seemed the universe took that as its cue, because at that very moment a voice sounded in Absol's head.

"_**I've given you the power to take our world back from the humans**_… _**kill any who stand against you.**_"

With the words came a sudden feeling of power flowing into him. And with that power came a sudden realization. This was happening everywhere.

Part of him was happy. He had little desire for power; sure, he fought in gym battles if Shadrick asked him too, but he didn't fight for himself. What made him happy was that he could sense disasters again! It felt like a part of him had been missing all this time, but now he was whole again.

This newfound happiness was tempered, however, by the knowledge that this disaster was happening worldwide. And then the happiness was gone completely, replaced by a familiar feeling that he hadn't felt in almost ten years.

It was a confusing thing, to both know that something bad is about to happen, and to know that you are the cause of it. It is humbling to realize that what you are doing is fated. If you suddenly chose differently, would the feeling go away? If part of you never intended to go through with it, would you have gotten the feeling in the first place? Absol never experimented with these questions, but they nonetheless plagued him the first few times he buried a wayward traveler under rubble. Shadrick theorized that it was a subconscious defense-mechanism to prevent such confusion that caused his powers of prediction to fade.

Whether that was the case or not, Absol knew what was going to happen next. Part of him wept for it, but another part couldn't help but wonder if this was his punishment. 'The universe certainly has a sense of irony,' Absol thought as the earth beneath his paws shook violently, and the cliff he was standing on began to collapse.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

_AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHH H!_

Shadrick was awakened suddenly by Ninetales' telepathic scream. 'What's wrong?' he thought, hoping she was reading his mind. His only reply was another scream of pain. Not wasting another second, he grabbed his robe and ran downstairs. The moment he opened the door, however, he froze.

Before his eyes, his pokémon were going crazy. Ninetales' screams continued to reverberate in Shadrick's skull as she thrashed about. Every jerk of her tails caused a chunk of earth to rise from the ground, surrounded by a blue aura, and fly through the air. Weavile appeared to be shrouded in a blizzard; snow and ice swirled around him, allowing only brief glimpses of his black fur. A geyser of flame burst from Houndoom's mouth and seemed to reach for the moon. A howl was heard from the flames that sent shivers straight to Shadrick's core. The howl sounded again, and he slammed the door shut. A third howl sent him running into the corner, huddled into a ball. His heart was a racing a mile a minute and he was beginning to hyperventilate. A Houndoom's howl could strike fear in the mind of the unprepared, and shock and worry had left Shadrick's mental defenses pretty low.

He clapped his hands over his ears and tried his best to calm his breathing. Once more a terrifying howl ripped through the air.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

Even after everything quieted down, it was still a while before Shadrick could work up the nerve to check on his pokémon. His legs felt like jelly; he had to lean on the wall in order to stand. He felt ashamed for being so afraid. It was irrational and he should have been prepared. He continued to berate himself as he slowly made his way to the rack he kept all his pokéballs on. He stuffed them all in his pockets. He was going to have to take his pokémon to Nurse Joy; what had just happened was certainly not normal.

By the time he made it outside he was able to walk on his own again. He went from pokémon to pokémon, one by one putting them into their pokéballs. Expand. Return. Shrink. Expand. Return. Shrink. All his pokémon were unconscious, so it was quiet work. But that was okay, since it gave Shadrick time to compose himself. But all of that composure collapsed as soon as he saw Eevee.

'Oh no.' He was surrounded by a puddle of blood. It all originated form a huge gash on his side. There was enough blood that his fur had been dyed a dark crimson. There was no denying it; Eevee was dead.

Shadrick dropped to his knees. Tears coursed down his face. A cry, more animal that human, tore from his lips. All of the worry and shock and fear and sorrow that he had felt that night came crashing back down on him all at once, sending him over the edge. He collapsed onto the ground and broke down. He didn't scream or cry to the heavens, he didn't have the energy to. He just lay there, in a puddle of blood that wasn't his, and wept.

~xbreakbreakbreakx~

**Fear and terror, rousing speeches, absolute despair, jumping into action; I gave several different reactions to the dampener removal. I hope you guys like what I've done. Up next will be our first dampener-free fight scenes.**


End file.
